Rain barrels can bring you savings

Irrigate your garden with runoff from the roof.

Art and Janet Persing, of Lower Macungie Township, have setup a water harvesting… (SPENCER SOPER, THE MORNING…)

March 24, 2012|Spencer Soper | On The Cheap

Like most couples, Artie and Janet Persing have their disagreements.

For instance, Artie would like to store in the bathroom rain water the couple collect from their downspouts to flush the toilet. But Janet just shakes her head and laughs: "We're not doing that."

But they agree on more important things, like respecting water.

"This is a valuable resource," Artie said.

Janet added: "It's not like oil. You can't live without it."

We visited Artie and Janet in Lower Macungie Township last week to see their elaborate rain collection system, which they use to irrigate their garden. Members of the Lower Macungie Garden Club, they grow enough produce for half a year in their 600-square-foot garden.

In the summer, they pump about 50 to 75 gallons a day onto their lettuce, carrots, beans, peas, tomatoes, eggplant and strawberries.

They've got three big barrels to catch rainwater from one downspout that drains most of the roof. They've got a couple more barrels they use for storage. And in the garden, there's another barrel with a water pump, which they use to push the water through a hose for all those veggies.

They started with just one barrel beneath a downspout about 10 years ago, and have since expanded the operation. Artie estimates they've saved about 13,000 gallons of water that would have otherwise run down their driveway into the street. Last year, they had 2,300 gallons stored before Hurricane Irene hit.

Artie and Janet show their system in a video you can see at http://www.mcall.com/onthecheap. You'll be inspired to do some gardening and water saving if you watch it.

They get their water from Lehigh County Authority, which has imposed lawn watering and car washing restrictions in summer, fearing the agency's wells would not produce sufficient water to meet peak demand. They got their rain barrels free through a program run by the authority.

We did some number-crunching in the On The Cheap lab and figure this tip would save you $99.82 over 20 years, based on Lehigh County Authority water rates. Plus, you get the satisfaction of using something most people just let wash away.

Now, some thanks are in order. Mr. and Mrs. X in Schnecksville showed us a couple of weeks ago how to ditch the high cost of cable and get television for free with an antenna. The column prompted a response from Linda Lovette, who was worried about the birds perching on the antenna, which can cause damage. Linda suggested the couple install a fake owl on the antenna to keep birds away.

"Thanks for printing the tip from Linda Lovette about putting an owl on our antenna," Mrs. X said. "It was nice of her to let us know and nice of you to pass it along."